Maidy Whitesell
for School Board
A New Generation of Leadership for Better Schools
Meet Maidy
I have been an active parent volunteer in our schools and our broader community. I served on the PTO boards at Round Elementary and Metz, and on the board of the Wellington Dolphins swim team. My involvement with the Rotary Impact club and as coordinator for the Future Kings organization, a group that promotes STEM careers for minority students, has also given me a deep appreciation for community engagement. I aim to bring this experience and dedication to the School Board to make a meaningful impact on our school.
As a professional, I work in corporate consulting and my job involves process optimizations, financial audits, and contract negotiations for major domestic and international companies. I’m a data driven individual and I look to provide efficiency in processes and to implement best practices. The school board amongst other things is an oversight and accountability body, and I know how to improve organizations facing problems and how to find efficiencies. I am the only candidate in this race with this background, which I hope to leverage for better results for our students and community if elected.
My parents and younger siblings came to the US in 2000. They started their schooling here. My mom was very involved in their education until she was diagnosed with cancer in 2006. I was still living in South America and by this time, I had already completed my degree and was working for a large international company. I left everything behind and I am grateful that I was able to spend time with my mom before she passed. As the oldest daughter, I promised to take care of my elementary-aged siblings. As such, I experienced firsthand the challenges of adapting to a new educational system. I am the only candidate in the race who has experienced the Manassas City schools as a Spanish-speaking immigrant. The School Board currently lacks anyone with this personal experience, and I hope to bring this perspective to the Board if elected.
I am married to a wonderful Spanish teacher Todd, and we have two kids. Our daughter, Sophia, is going into 8th grade at Metz and our son, Matt, will be in 11th grade at Osbourn. Both of our children started their educational journeys in Manassas as Kindergarten students at Round Elementary.
We must acknowledge our schools' problems so we can work towards fixing them - together
What Maidy Will Do On the School Board
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Increased Academic Rigor and Stronger Discipline
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Greater Parent Involvement and Communication
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Improved Teacher Retention and Stronger Accountability & Oversight
Our schools are hurting right now and we need a School Board that is more willing to not only acknowledge our problems but is willing to start making changes. Our only middle school and high school are not fully state accredited; we're struggling with absenteeism rates, low teacher morale due to low behavioral and academic expectations, and a School Board that has not addressed these issues in a serious, systematic, and transparent way.
We have a responsibility to inspire our students to reach their full potential through policies and programs that encourage students to show up and do their work each and every day. Let’s start with improving communication. Let’s highlight opportunities where we can develop internships for our high schoolers by partnering with local businesses. Our local businesses have a high interest in helping our kids grow the skills they need while getting real life experience at work.
Let's be proactive. Let's be transparent. Let's bring back expectations and accountability. The current MCPS grading policy gives students 50% credit for work that is not even attempted (there are no 0s in MCPS) and guarantees retakes on all tests and assignments for full credit. This policy communicates the wrong message to our students and they are failing to reach their full potential as a result of it. I hope to change this and help all of our schools achieve and maintain full accreditation.
My personal experience with my family, as an immigrant, and as a community volunteer makes me very well aware that many students don't have certain resources at home. I often talk about how many students don't have parents that are able to help them with homework. The issue however, is that we should not confuse the need for extra support, such as after school tutoring, with thinking our students are not capable of coming to school and applying themselves. I think our current elected leadership often confuses this.
We need to advocate for our teachers, too. We are losing good teachers because they don't feel supported, because they don't feel their voice and concerns are heard, because they don't feel like a priority.
At the heart of all of these issues facing MCPS is, in my opinion, a lack of transparency and rigorous, data-driven decision-making. I want to see more decision making based on facts and best practices and to make sure higher collaboration. All stakeholders need to be involved.
And when decisions are made, it is the job of the School Board to make sure there is correct implementation and follow though. Many of the discipline issues at our schools in my experience stem from processes and efforts not being consistently applied.
